Frank Lavender
Soho Theatre
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Soho Theatre -
I first watched Gareth Joyner as their beloved character Myra Dubois a few months back, and I fell in love with them. Dubois is witty, snarky, hilarious and as camp as you can get. I was in my element, rarely since have I hurt that much from laughing. One highlight of that night though, was their support act - Frank Lavender - an utterly hilarious old hack comedian, trying his best not to offend. Good choice Myra.
After the show I went to follow them on Instagram, only to realise Frank Lavender was Gareth Joyner all along. Initially I felt duped, but I now recognise how technically a talented performer they are for me to blissfully not notice they were the same person. When I saw Lavender had a full show of his own at Soho Theatre, I ran to get a ticket.
Excellently directed by the formidable John-Luke Roberts, Frank Lavender lords about as ‘the last straight man left in show business’, promising sixty laughs in as many minutes. I was worried when I entered Soho Downstairs to find it only half full but there was something quite magical and charming about watching Lavender shmooze the crowd, it felt like going back in time to a a rough, weathered old comedy club.
There is always a risk that with a sleepy Monday night audience - and oh boy were they sleepy - that Lavender's quickfire material could fall flat, but Lavender has a genius rolodex of get-out cards, with five more punchlines to support if the main gag doesn’t quite land. Never did he let the low energy detract from the material, instead harbouring it to further excel. Frank has played these quiet rooms before, he’s a seasoned pro.
Throughout a gag-filled hour (we achieved many more than sixty, mind), Gareth Joyner is magic to watch, a master at crowd-work, effortlessly gliding towards and interrogating the politically incorrect line. Armed with the broken-puppet PC No Offence and supported by his faithful wife Rose - a devil on the drums - the whole hour is an utter joy. Be under no mistake, we’re watching a depiction of an old comedian (friends with Roy Chubby Brown) do hack material that you might normally grunt or scoff at, but somehow it simply just works; with a musical number on being cancelled - the can-cancelled - the cherry on top.
To put it bluntly, it feels as though Lavender could be on the cusp of the same cult status as Myra Dubois. Hilarious, energetic, witty and playful, a Monday evening spent with Frank, Rose and PC No Offence is one to treasure; I just wish the audience had been more supportive.
You can keep up to date with future Frank Lavender gigs on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/franklavender/
Gareth Joyner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/garethjoyner
FIVE STARS
